The Valley Preferred Cycling Center

Trexlertown, Pa — The Valley Preferred Cycling Center (VPCC) celebrates its 35^th anniversary this year with nine Friday nights of professional, international Olympic-caliber racing highlighted by the return of the U.S. Junior National Championships to the famed Trexlertown track for the time, Executive Director Marty Nothstein announced Thursday.

In addition to the World Series of Cycling professional schedule and four days with the best young riders in the country, there will be 17 nights of the 24-7 Fitness Super Tuesday Pro-Am race nights and 16 Masters and Rookies events for a total of 46 race days on the 2010 calendar.

“It’s important that our fans know that, once professional racing begins, it will occur every Friday night for nine weeks, with the exception of our traditional Independence Day break’’ said Nothstein, former Olympic gold and silver medalist in the Sprint competition and a three-time World Champion on the track.

“But we also want people to know that racing doesn’t begin and end on Friday nights,” Nothstein continued. “Tuesday nights offer a terrific competitive schedule as the best rising stars in the sport try to earn the right to move up to Elite competition, and our Masters and Rookies series is some of the best entertainment in the sport.”

Friday’s calendar will feature the return of classic fan favorites such as the Keirin Cup, the Salamander Madison Cup, Tandemonium and the U.S. Tandem Championships and the Festival of Speed featuring the Artie Greenburg 10-Mile Memorial U.S. Championships. Also returning is the Air Products Finals night and an expanded version of the popular Corporate Challenge, which allows companies and organizations from across the region to put their own employees on the track for an Italian pursuit and a chance to shine under the Friday night lights.

Dave Chauner of Pro Cycling Tour, who has produced the Philadephia International Championship for the past 25 years, joined Jack Simes III to open T-town for Rodale in 1975. He said the early promotional tactics paired with great racing put the velodrome on the international map.

“When Jack and I were hired by Bob Rodale as the first management team, our philosophy was to promote Trexlertown as if it was Madison Square Garden … play to the crowd, build personalities, present cycling as entertainment as well as exciting sport,” Chauner said. “We experimented with formats and presentation and created short, fast programs. It worked.  Pretty soon, we packed the place every Friday night and Trexlertown arguably became the best outdoor track in the world.”

Nothstein said the 35^th Anniversary year will renew the VPCC focus on the community programs that have made T-town a powerhouse on international track cycling for more than three decades. A product of the Air Products Cycling Program and Bicycle Racing League, Nothstein said he knows how important these programs are for the development of young talent and the continued strength of track cycling on a national and international scale.

“We have trained dozens and dozens and dozens of national champions and Olympic competitors right here on my home track and we want to build on that record,” said Nothstein, The Morning Call Athlete of the Decade for 2000-2010.